Blog:US component firms hurting

Things don’t seem to be getting very much better for the under-pressure big US components companies this year. Their main customers in Detroit have been cutting back on production plans and profit warnings have followed. Delphi has even been caught cooking its books. Visteon is struggling to turn a profit and many in the industry feel that it would not survive without bail outs from its former parent. Indeed, its sheer size makes the disruption that would follow from its downfall just too much for Ford to swallow. And Tower Automotive and others have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The feature below, written by Colin Whitbread at the back end of last year, provides a summary of the grim situation in which Visteon finds itself. It's not all bad (there has been progress on customer diversification and restructuring) but the environment in which it and its fellow US-based parts companies are operating in is not helping. And the pressure to outsource even more to India and China will be increasing too.

Given the startling complexity of obtaining a journalist visa for China - the code 'J2' is now indelibly stamped on my mind - it was with some surprise how swiftly I managed to sail through airport im...